BREAKING NEWS: Chaos As Trump Rally in Chicago Cancelled
Donald Trump has postponed his rally at the UIC Chicago Pavilion due to safety concerns.
Barricades and street closures are ready to go as many groups plan to march outside the UIC Pavilion, where Donald Trump will hold a rally Friday night.
An estimated 5,000-7,000 people were already in the Pavilion as of 5 p.m. and the line still stretches several blocks around the building. Hundreds of protesters are outside the Pavilion. The event will begin at 6 p.m. Already, a sizeable portion of the attendees - perhaps several hundred of them - are protesters. Several protesters have been escorted out to chants of "USA! USA!" while several supporters have been escorted out after inciting confrontations with protesters.
Hundreds of protesters outside the Donald Trump rally at UIC Pavilion.
"I think they have a right to protest, but I think they should do it outside," says Trump supporter James Plocicki. "Let the man speak, because that's what we came here for, to hear him."
"I think they should get a job and find something to do during the day," says another supporter who did not want to be named.
"I think it's stupid," said John Quaas. "I don't think they're getting anything done by doing it, honestly. It's just gonna make more animosity and hate among types of fans."
Chicago police have already had to enter the building to help control crowds. Many of the protesters appear to be UIC students, members of a campus that is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse in the country.
The Pavilion can hold up to 10,000 people and the Trump campaign says that's how many people they expect. Supporters in line say they admire Trump.
Anyone wearing obvious anti-Trump gear or carrying an anti-Trump protest sign is not being allowed in.
Many attendees came from Indiana and Wisconsin, making it a day trip to see the candidate they support.
Peaceful prayer groups began protesting Thursday night. Shortly before 4 p.m., hundreds of UIC students began gathering in the quad two blocks away from the Pavilion for a student-led protest against the rally.
About 180 faculty and staff members signed a letter to the university's chancellor expressing concern about Trump's rally on campus. Students are disappointed and upset that the school has rented the Pavilion to Trump, but school officials say they believe the decision is not an endorsement but in line with a long-standing policy to rent to politicians. Students say there is no place for Trump on this diverse campus, especially for his platform of hate and intolerance.
"It was quite disappointing that they couldn't cancel because we feel it's not just offensive to us, the things that he's spreading, but it's also something- we feel unsafe here on campus having someone like that here, and his supporters," says Asa Wahdan, of the UIC Muslim Student Association.
"I don't think they should be supporting him because he goes against everything UIC says. Like, UIC is such a diverse campus and the fact that he wants his immigration laws and LBGTQ and how he's against that, we don't support it," says student Priyah Shah.
"As a UIC student, it's resonated not only with me but with the entire campus because our campus one of the most diverse campuses here in the city of Chicago," says Lizbeth Perez Olazava, student.
There are countless groups getting involved, including minority student groups, Latino organizations and even Trump's own hotel workers from Las Vegas. Among Trump's claims during this presidential campaign were his call to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border and deport undocumented immigrants back to Mexico.
"I do not believe Donald Trump will make it to the White House. I believe that America is a great nation - we all believe in protecting our sovereign nation. The difference between Donald Trump and I is that I don't believe it should be at the cost of destroying families, deporting people. And that's why we're here today," said Julie Contreras, League of United Latin American Citizens.
Security is tight at the Pavilion. A Secret Service officer opened doors at UIC about 15 minutes early. Rally attendees and had their bags searched even before setting foot inside. Once in the door, they're being wanded, swept and scanned, and not just for weapons.
With Trump the subject of Secret Service protection, even his supporters are not allowed to bring in signs, posters or banners and full size cameras, GoPros and selfie-sticks are also banned. They are allowed to express their feelings through an array of buttons.
"I like the message Donald Trump is spreading," says supporter Jeremy Birr. "My favorite part of his message is we're going to build a wall. That's the no. 1 thing. Build a wall and the fact of his foreign policy- not a lot of people know about it."
But as in other cities where Trump has appeared, there are detractors.
"We say no to hate and racism and no to Donald Trump!" protesters chanted.
"There's hate in that pavilion," says protester Sophia Sarabia. "We believe with our prayer and our drums, we can overcome this hate with love. God is love."
Chicago police are there on horseback and bicycles. Police tactical teams are also deployed around the UIC Pavilion, but city police officials say it is a Secret Service security operation; Chicago police and fire are only in supporting roles.
In addition to Trump's messaging and political platforms, students say they are protesting because of reports that supporters and campaign staff have physically and verbally assaulted protesters and journalists.
During the last CNN GOP debate, Trump was grilled about a violent exchange at his North Carolina rally Wednesday, in which a supporter sucker-punched a protester in the face as he was leaving.
"When they see protest and some cases, you know you're mentioning one case which I haven't seen, I heard about it, which I don't like. But when the see what's going on in this country, they have anger that's unbelievable," Trump responded.
The ugly moment has gone viral. Police say the man who threw the elbow, 78-year-old John McGraw, is now charged with assault and battery. The victim, Rakeem Jones, is speaking out.
"If it was the other way around it would have been a different story," he says.
The Trump campaign says they "discourage this kind of behavior" and "ensure the safety of any and all attendees," but the attack follows weeks of trump suggesting to his supporters that they get violent.
"We're not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days," Trump lamented at one rally.
"So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously," he said at another event.
"I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you," Trump said at a different rally.
Trump is also dealing with accusations a staff member assaulted a reporter with the conservative news site Breitbart. The reporter, Michelle Fields, showed the bruise where she says Trump's campaign manager grabbed her.
"I wasn't going to show pictures of my bruises or anything until he came out and basically called me a liar," Fields said.
Trump responded to a question about his campaign denying the assault by saying, "Well, I wasn't there. I don't know what to think about it, I can say this, I was walking and we have tremendous Secret Service around, and he was within that whole grid and the Secret Service people said nothing happened."
Fiels filed assault charges against Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with the Jupiter, Florida, police department. Police spokesman Officer Adam Brown released a heavily redacted copy of the report, saying specific details are confidential as part of an ongoing investigation.
Other presidential candidates are also making a push in Illinois, as Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are also making stops in the area Friday. Hillary Clinton held a rally in suburban Vernon Hills Thursday night.
Source
Sorry for the long article, there isn't much written info yet that was a good source.
If you can, turn on CNN. This is SCARY FUCKING SHIT that's happening. Fights are breaking out in the arena.
UPDATE: The arena has been mostly cleared out at this point. Hopefully nothing more will happen, though the protesters are clumped outside the arena so there's still potential for issues
UPDATE 2: Chicago P.D. confirmed that the rally was not shut down/cancelled by them, the implication being that it was Trump's camp that shut it down.
UPDATE 3: 1 police officer and 2 participants have gone to the hospital due to injuries, all are in good condition. 3 people were also arrested.